Grade 3

Third graders take an increasingly independent role in the scientific process through their studies of archeology, organisms and their adaptations, and motion and design. These investigations present questions and problems that require students to observe, hypothesize, experiment and think critically to identify the best conclusions or solutions. Students engage in a variety of hands-on experiences, experiments and design challenges that help them develop and apply their scientific thinking. During their study of adaptations, individual research projects allow students to discover answers to their own scientific questions and share their findings as they learn from and teach one another. A highlight of the 3rd grade curriculum is the archeological dig, which allows students to build connections between archeology as a science and their study of early Connecticut history. Students use clues about their simulated dig site to present hypotheses and draw conclusions about life in the 1800s—just one of many ways that students apply science skills to real-world questions.

Third graders expand their mathematical abilities as they explore increasingly abstract processes and expressions including place value to 100,000, decimals, fractions, division, multiplication, measurement, geometry, probability, data and graphing. Children explore concepts of area and perimeter using a variety of manipulatives including Geoboards and Color Tiles when investigating open-ended questions. The investigations related to area naturally open up conversations and further investigations of multiplication and fractions. Throughout the year, children are placed in different grouping configurations to ensure focused investigations in many types of mathematics. They practice recall of basic facts while exploring the relationships of numbers in a variety of contexts. Algebraic skills are expanded and reinforced through problem-solving, logic puzzles and operations involving multiple steps and multi-digit numbers.

Third grade students read and write music and develop a joy of singing, dancing and playing together. Building on foundational skills, the students learn more advanced songs, dances, games and activities, requiring responses to multi-step directions, and more advanced partwork is introduced. Students become more facile reading and writing pentatonic music, which results in their ability to read staff notation in F, G and C positions. Students are also introduced to the extended pentatone with high do’ and learn the rhythm tibi-tibi (four beamed sixteenth notes) as well as ta-ah-ah-ah (whole note) and the whole rest. Working individually and as a group, they demonstrate cooperation and respect for others in all class activities. The year culminates with 3rd graders dancing the traditional Maypole at the community wide May Day celebration, a tradition that dates back to the earliest days of Foote School.

In 3rd grade drama, students participate in increasingly elaborate theatrical activities. By repeating scenes and adding more and more elements (dialogue, music, etc), they build their understanding of the complexity of stage productions. Students work together to create a sequence of actions that form a plot. They respond to challenges that require quick thinking to adapt to the needs of a moment, and combine logic with creativity to develop believable characters and situations.

Third graders explore story structures and the evolution of narratives through a unit on fairy tales and folktales from around the world. They learn to draw parallels between stories, and to distinguish between different interpretations of character archetypes, themes and morals. A highlight of the year is creating folktale riddles for classmates that synthesize their understanding of the essential components of an archetypal story. Students browse the library collection freely and explore the various sections of the library, building on prior experience and becoming familiar with areas of interest.

In 3rd grade, students explore vocabulary and conversational practice that cover topics such as families, pets, hobbies and body parts. Children learn to ask and answer simple questions using basic linguistic structures. In addition to listening and speaking, reading and writing are introduced during 3rd grade and instruction continues to be highly interactive. The students’ writing objectives include being able to follow stroke orders and write numbers, single pictographs, radicals and some of the most commonly used characters to communicate meaning. In addition to celebrating traditional Chinese holidays such as Mid-Autumn Festival and Lunar New Year, 3rd graders experience a STEM unit at the end of spring in which they demonstrate math facts in Chinese.

Third grade Spanish instruction focuses on developing listening, speaking and pronunciation as the keystones of language study. Our emphasis on oral communication encourages children to distinguish and replicate sounds. Third grade students are introduced to the sounds and patterns of Spanish through nursery rhymes, songs, stories, games and role-playing. 

By the end of each unit our students are able to ask and answer questions about the reading, frequently in complete sentences. We continue learning and using elementary vocabulary such as colors, numbers, days of the week, animals, food, family, the home, body parts and verbs. Additionally, students learn about Hispanic culture through children’s books and special projects like birthday celebrations.

A highlight of the 3rd grade year is the extended focus on computational thinking, engineering and robotics in technology class. After learning about online safety, the children use the engineering design process to problem solve and collaboratively develop a number of projects. They create, build, program and debug—physically and virtually—through Sphero. Third graders learn keyboarding and editing skills and begin to use Chromebooks for more frequent writing projects in class.